2 weeks Ago
LOCKHART, Texas — Since 2020, Calvary Chapel Lockhart has opened its doors as a warming shelter for the homeless , open 24 hours a day. Whenever there is a freeze, people without a place to go have a place to sleep. Pete Arciniega is the senior pastor.
"We let them do whatever they want to do, as long as they abide by the rules that we set here," Arciniega said. "What had happened was a lot of people were getting the word out, and people were coming from Austin. People were coming from Bastrop, from Luling, so we're getting people from San Marcos.
" Arciniega has been in the Lockhart area for 20 years, and as Central Texas grows, Arciniega is noticing homelessness is growing too. "I would say in the last 10 years, it's been more visible. I think there's always been homeless people here, but you just didn't see them a lot," Arciniega said.
Jessica Henderson leads the warming shelter ministry at the church and has noticed it too. "It's definitely been an issue that's been swept under the rug, and kind of just in hopes that maybe it'll go away or it'll become someone else's problem, and the reality of it is it's these people aren't, you know, problems. They're human beings," Henderson said.
As this boomtown keeps booming, Arciniega and Henderson are hopeful city leaders can step up when it comes to providing more resources. "I was looking today, and January is going to be pretty brutal, so I think it is going to take more of a sense of urgency to get supplies together and get people to come together," Henderson said. It is offering the space, the heart and the means for those that are living without.
The church is also looking for all kinds of donations. If you want to drop anything off or need a ride to the warming shelter, call 512-227-0147..
